Friday, September 12
Boulder, Colo.
6 PM
Colorado
7-0,0-0Big 12
3
vs
1
Arkansas
1-5,0-0SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Arkansas
25
16
15
22
1
Colorado
22
25
25
25
3
Buffs Roughhouse with Razorbacks, Earn Seventh-Straight in Home Opener
September 12, 2025 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (7-0, 0-0 Big 12) defeated Arkansas (1-5, 0-0 SEC) in four sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-22) at the CU Events Center on Friday, Sept. 12. This marks back-to-back years that CU has seen a victory over an SEC team. Junior pin attacker Lily Dwinell reached her 500th career kill in the first set of the match.
The Buffs overcame a flat start, coming out of the first set with a tight 25-22 loss. After leading the whole way in the second, CU's momentum shifted, and it came out with wins in the second, third and fourth sets.
"It was a really good match," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Both sides played really physically. We did not serve well in that first set […] We were still able to keep it close. We made really nice adjustments in sets two, three and four in terms of who was serving and how we were serving. We were able to get them out of system and capitalize."
The Buffaloes out-hit (52-48), out-assisted (50-45), out-dug (48-43) and out-aced (9-3) the Razorbacks. Colorado held Arkansas to .194 hitting on the night and hit .364 in the fourth set.
KEY PLAYERS:
HOW IT HAPPENED:
UP NEXT
MATCH NOTES:
For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.
The Buffs overcame a flat start, coming out of the first set with a tight 25-22 loss. After leading the whole way in the second, CU's momentum shifted, and it came out with wins in the second, third and fourth sets.
"It was a really good match," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Both sides played really physically. We did not serve well in that first set […] We were still able to keep it close. We made really nice adjustments in sets two, three and four in terms of who was serving and how we were serving. We were able to get them out of system and capitalize."
The Buffaloes out-hit (52-48), out-assisted (50-45), out-dug (48-43) and out-aced (9-3) the Razorbacks. Colorado held Arkansas to .194 hitting on the night and hit .364 in the fourth set.
KEY PLAYERS:
- Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan recorded the first double-double of the season, and seventh of her career, with 15 kills, hitting .367 (4e, 30att) and 15 digs. She also scored five aces for the Buffs, her second match in a row doing so.
- JORDAN ON MOMENTUM SHIFT: "As a team, we know our jobs…everyone does a really good job executing their exact job on the court, it isn't flashy, but it's something that we've gotten so much better at from last year to this year. That's something that people watching might not always see, but that's something that we feel on the court. We're doing things right systematically, and that gives us confidence."
- Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell reached her 500th career kill and finished the match with five kills, four digs and a block.
- Sr. S Rian Finley saw 43 assists, three digs, two kills and one ace.
- Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic earned 20 kills, five digs, four blocks and two aces for Colorado.
- BURILOVIC ON SUCCESS ON THE COURT: "We just realized we needed to be more aggressive. We were really fluffy in the first set […] We just [needed] to play our game, we don't need to do anything else, just do what we do best."
- Jr. MB Cayla Payne led the match in blocks with five (one solo). She also recorded seven kills.
- So. MB Maria Splawska saw three kills, two blocks and one dig.
- Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal had eight digs and an assist, and Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton totaled 10 digs and five assists.
- Jr. DS/L Avery Bolles had one dig and one ace, and Fr. S Audrey Asleson had one assist, one dig and a block.
- For the Razorbacks, Lakin Laurendine had 13 kills and Kiki Remensperger had 13 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Buffaloes started their first match at home going point for point-for-point with the Razorbacks (8-8). Colorado called its first timeout after a short run from Arkansas (15-13, Ark). The Buffs returned to the court to go on a four-point run, including Dwinell's 500th career-kill (17-16, CU). Kills from Payne and Burilovic kept Colorado in the game, but ultimately Arkansas won the first set (25-22, Ark).
- The Black and Gold started the second set with a 3-0 run, including two aces from Jordan (3-0, CU). The Buffs went on a second run which saw an ace from Bolles (6-1, CU). Another Colorado run forced Arkansas to call their first timeout (11-5, CU). The Buffs returned to the court for back-to-back kills from Payne (13-5, CU). The Buffs refused to be lazy defendants of the court, continuing their momentum with a Splawska-Dwinell block (16-9, CU). Four answered points and a Payne-Burilovic block put the Buffs at set-point (24-14, CU). The Buffs took the second set from the Razorbacks, 25-16 (CU).
- After a back-and-forth start to the third set, a Jordan ace started the lead for Colorado (8-7, CU). The Black and Gold saw two Payne-Burilovic blocks, a measure of their defense at the net (15-9, CU). Coming back from the media timeout, Colorado continued their 5-0 run (16-9, CU). A Burilovic ace forced Arkansas to call a timeout (18-10, CU). The Buffs returned to the court for another Burilovic ace (19-10, CU). Colorado continued their lead with two more kills from Jordan and Splawska (21-12, CU). Two final aces from Jordan saw a 10-point win for Colorado in the third set (25-15, CU).
- The Buffs came out swinging in the fourth set with a kill from Burilovic (1-0, CU). A 3-0 run saw kills from Dwinell and Burilovic (6-2, CU). A kill from Jordan maintained the Buffaloes lead (9-6, CU). The Buffs allowed an abnormal accumulation of points from Arkansas, but a kill from Jordan saw the momentum switch (17-17, CU). Coming back from an Arkansas timeout, Colorado continued their 4-0 run with a Jordan kill, assisted by Morton (20-17, CU). An ace from Finley forced another Arkansas timeout (23-20, CU). A final kill from Burilovic saw the Buffaloes taking the match (25-22, CU).
UP NEXT
- The Buffaloes remain at home for the next match of the Buffs Invitational on Sept. 13. Colorado's second of three matches is against Toledo, and first serve is set for 6 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.
MATCH NOTES:
- CU improves to 1-1 in the series with the Razorbacks all-time.
- The last time the Buffs were 7-0 to start the season, having lost only three sets, was in 2022.
- The Buffaloes got their first 3-1 victory of the season and are 1-0 in four-set matches.
For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.
Team Stats
AR
CU
Kills
48
52
Errors
23
19
Attempts
129
120
Hitting %
.194
.275
Points
56.0
68.0
Assists
45
50
Aces
3
9
Blocks
5
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
5
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
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